Tuesday, November 23, 2021
If you’re managing multiple social media platforms, you need one place to manage and gain visibility into the results of your actions and resulting engagements gained from each of your social profiles. The name for such a tool is commonly called a social media dashboard.
We already know that most brands leverage 2 or more social media platforms, the latest stat indicating way back in 2015 that this was the case for 91% of brands. One can only imagine that 91% is probably the number today for managing 3 or more social media profiles – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more brands investing in TikTok and Pinterest as well.
As you can imagine, the more channels you manage, the more complexity in managing them and in gleaning insight as to what you need to do to improve. That’s where using a robust social media dashboard can help us.
While a dashboard is normally thought of as a control center to measure and monitor your most important social media marketing KPIs, most social media dashboards actually include social media management features to provide you a truly one-stop solution for your social media strategies.
I have done my best to place each social media dashboard into one of several categories that separate them. Some dashboards have more features or network integrations than others, so pick what you need. For instance, if you are already happy with your social media management tool, perhaps you only need to invest in a social media dashboard that has a strong social media analytics feature.
Keep reading to discover what social media tools are waiting for you!
An enterprise-grade social media dashboard is typically designed with the large business or MNC in mind. They come with support for several different social media accounts across multiple brands or divisions within a company. For example, a lot of fashion and consumer goods companies have multiple lines with different brand names. As a result, enterprise dashboards often have more features than smaller brands need or want. With that said, they do make the life of a large-company marketer easier.
This social media dashboard is designed to be an all-in-one solution. They have a built-in content creation tool that lets you make truly great visual content. Then, you can post the content on multiple platforms at the right time. However, Falcon goes further still: they feature social listening functionality, tools to manage your brand community and customer service, and even track results. Their site lists some really large companies as clients.
Hootsuite has all the basics and more. This includes a complete content creation functionality, social listening/community management, customer service, and analytics. Beyond these basics, Hootsuite has excellent collaboration functionalities and integrations with your other applications. This way, you can save time and minimize repetitive tasks. Don’t need all that? There’s a limited-use version for free.
If you want a social media platform that does just about everything, check this one out. They have all the basics, such as post-composition, scheduling, customer service, and analytics. However, Socialbakers goes farther than some of their competitors. For one thing, they have some AI-based tools that help you understand your audience and develop a strategy. For another, they have influencer marketing functionalities built right in. So, if your brand depends heavily on influencers, this one may be for you.
SproutSocial is a social media dashboard with some serious features. Think collab tools, post creation, listening, analytics, and more. In addition, the dashboard covers all of the major networks, except for TikTok. Finally, if you’re an eCommerce brand or have a heavy local-level presence then this dashboard has special integrations just for you.
If you run a marketing agency, then it’s safe to assume you are managing a large number of social accounts. After all, most of these agencies handle the bulk of a client’s social media activity as part of their service. To that end, a social media dashboard for an agency needs to be able to handle all of these accounts.
On the other hand, small businesses need to manage their social media accounts but usually only have one account per network. What SMBs and agencies share is that their social media dashboard needs to think small: most agencies work with small and mid-sized businesses since the big ones have their own department. To that end, these dashboard selections can think large and small at the same time.
AgoraPulse has all of your basic features, such as scheduling, engagement, and listening tools. However, its strength is in how easy the tool is to use. They have responsive customer service, which is especially beneficial for SMBs because let’s face it, SMB owners don’t have a lot of time to waste on the phone. In addition, the tool is intuitive and easy to learn. Finally, one of the advantages for agencies is that you can pay per user and account, as necessary. This makes scaling super easy and affordable.
Sendible is similar to AgoraPulse in that they have live, responsive customer service. However, one thing that sets them apart is a mobile app that integrates with all your social media accounts. This way, you can respond to people on social media while away from your computer. In addition, they are advertising partners for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Finally, you can compose posts within the desktop version of the application, with or without Canva support.
If you own a small business, it’s often tough to have extra time to spend on social media. However, this is an important task. With a social media dashboard designed for small businesses, you can get these essential tasks done faster and more easily than you would be able to otherwise. In addition, small business-focused tools are intended to be affordable and easy to use.
Buffer has two standout company features. In particular, they are specifically designed and priced for small businesses. Second, they are socially responsible by benefitting charity. Other than that, Buffer is a great social media platform for SMBs that want the basics. You’ll get scheduling, post development, and analytics. If you need collaboration tools, you can get them for an upcharge. In addition, you only pay for what you need, and it’s free if your business is small enough. Overall, a great way to get started.
Other than basic content creation, posting, and analytics, MavSocial has a few other attractions. First, it offers content curation tools. For an SMB tool, this is somewhat unusual. And as I’ve said before, content curation is a great way to demonstrate that you are up to date with recent trends. Second, they have a digital assets management feature, which helps protect your brand online. Third, MavSocial works with TikTok and WeChat.
This app has the essentials and is easy to use. Most notable, though, is its emphasis on social media-based customer service. All your social media response activity loads into a unified inbox. Then, you can take appropriate action directly from that inbox. In addition, they have a mobile app. This app lets you do the customer service parts of social media management from your phone, in any location. If you’re an SMB owner, this is a valuable feature. This social media dashboard is suitable for teams, too.
For small businesses, SocialPilot has a specially chosen set of features. They have all the basics you’d expect, plus a mobile app and browser extension. In addition, you do have some tech support options. Finally, SocialPilot has good content curation tools, which are especially valuable for solopreneurs and freelancers. Finally, you still get a social media inbox that helps you manage customer inquiries.
If you’re an artist or primarily post on visual platforms like Pinterest or Instagram, this kind of social media dashboard may be for you. The nice thing about these is that they specialize in a particular kind of post and do it really well. In addition, you don’t spend so much money on things you’ll rarely if ever, need. In terms of ROI, that’s always a plus.
Later was originally developed for Instagram. It has all the basic features you’d expect from a social media scheduler. They’ll help you with post development, primarily as photo and video formats. You’ll also get analytics. However, the two big features to mention are that they work only with visual platforms. This includes TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram. They also have significant support for user-generated content. Finally, this social media dashboard is easy to use.
Tailwind does two things very well: Instagram and Pinterest. And that’s all they do. Specifically, Tailwind will let you create posts, then schedule them. After publication, you’ll get analytics information to help plan the future. They have recently begun adding more support for Facebook as well.
If you’re an agency or business with lots of people on your team, collaboration may be important. After all, collaboration keeps people from needing to duplicate efforts. In addition, a social media dashboard with collaboration tools helps you get more stuff done faster.
Loomly is designed specifically for teams that work with the same brand. Although agencies can use it, the system of approvals is built for internal workgroups. With that said, it’s also ready for remote work, given its integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams. Use Loomly with most of the major social networks, including TikTok and Snapchat.
Although analytics is critical for the success of every team, some campaigns or strategies are more analytics-driven than others. This is especially true with brands in highly competitive niches, and with agencies. To that end, some social media dashboard options are geared specifically towards the analytics-heavy brand.
This one is more than just a social media dashboard. Instead, it helps you track all of your brand’s digital marketing activity. To that end, they have integrations for all the major advertising platforms, as well as several email marketing tools, Google My Business, Shopify, and others. In addition, they help with SEO and other tasks. White-label reports are also available to help you serve clients better.
Cyfe does a lot more than just social media analytics. Like the last dashboard, it tracks your performance on paid social and other internet advertising. However, what really makes Cyfe unique is the fact that they also integrate with your sales staff. The tool is so comprehensive that they call it a “business dashboard.”
Similar to Cyfe, DashThis is a multifaceted analytics tool. They give reports on all of your digital marketing efforts, including PPC and SEO. They even watch your email marketing performance. What makes this one special is that they also integrate different pieces of information that you have, and which are proprietary. This lets you see everything you need in one place.
Sometimes a traditional social media dashboard misses a few things. Plus, they often run on somewhat older technology. On the other hand, a smart dashboard leverages artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. Depending on your needs and industry, this can dole out serious benefits for your brand.
If you’re an SMB, solopreneur, or entrepreneur, check out MeetEdgar. What you do with this platform is add a bunch of content to your library. You can make it within the application. The app also curates evergreen content from many other sources, according to your guidelines. Then, MeetEdgar decides what to post from that library, and where to post it. This adds an intuitive feel to your social media marketing.
SmarterQueue is another “smart” dashboard. As with most dashboards, you’ll make and add social media posts, and get analytics information back. It also helps curate content, and randomly post evergreen content from multiple sources. Finally, they do have a social inbox that lets you respond to inquiries in-app. In some ways, it’s the best of both worlds: the automated, and the manual.
Like the others, SocialBee integrates both curated and proprietary content. They also help you change the posts as necessary. This both keeps them green and, especially with Twitter, compliant with terms of service. Posts are categorized, and you tell the app when to schedule which category. Then, the app takes care of the rest. You only need to intervene when adding new content or making changes, such as pausing a category. Finally, SocialBee offers concierge services such as content creation for a fee.
Whether you’re a freelancer or the marketing head of a large corporation, chances are that you do a lot of marketing on social media. Unfortunately, this can take a lot of time away from your business or cause you to add an extra FTE. Luckily, with the right social media dashboard you can accomplish most tasks quickly and easily. Check out a few of these today, and you’ll probably find the perfect one.
Hero photo by Arie Wubben on Unsplash